The Olympic flame destined for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games was lit Nov. 26 in Olympia, at the site that holds the origins of the Olympic movement. The ceremony took place inside the Greek city’s Archaeological Museum, after the fire had been generated according to ancient protocol in front of the Temple of Hera in previous days, through the sun’s rays captured with a parabolic mirror. In front of the temple and around High Priestess Mary Mina, the figures of the priestesses and kouroi (young men) marked a ritual combining symbolic elements of peace, purity and continuity. The Priestess, accompanied by the group of Priestesses, then led the flame inside the Museum and then handed it over to the first torchbearer, Petros Gkaidatzis, bronze medalist in Paris 2024 in rowing, light weight doubles. The rite (which keeps unchanged gestures and symbols handed down through the centuries) thus represents the official start of the Olympic journey. In the sacred grove of ancient Olympia, where the Games were born nearly 3,000 years ago, the ceremony once again evoked the link between divine light and the significance of the Olympic fire.
After the lighting, the flame was placed in an urn and escorted to the ancient stadium by Estia, the priestess responsible for guarding the fire. Here the handover to the first torchbearer took place along with an olive branch, a symbol of peace. Fire, born from the combination of the light of Apollo and the earth associated with Zeus, is traditionally considered a synthesis of the spiritual legacy of the Games: an element that crosses geographic and cultural boundaries and recalls the shared striving for excellence and peaceful coexistence. The torch, bearer of the symbolic heritage, will now begin a long journey that will cross Italy ahead of next year’s Olympic event, scheduled for Feb. 6-22, 2026. As Rai’s website reports, after a stop in Athens, where the official handover ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 4, 2025, the route will run for 63 days along about 12,000 kilometers. The route will touch 60 cities and 300 municipalities, involving more than 10,000 selected torchbearers. Italian regions will be crossed in a relay race designed to unite places of local history, culture and traditions.
The path of the flame will then end in Milan, where the Olympic fire will symbolically start the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games. The lighting in Olympia, which is repeated at each edition of the Games in accordance with an ancient ceremonial, reaffirms the universal value of the gesture: a fire that is lit in the cradle of Olympic civilization and is transferred to the nation that will host the event, in a passing of the baton that expresses continuity and responsibility.
 |
| Olympic flame lit in front of Temple of Hera: will travel to Milan Cortina 2026 |
Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.
